August 5, 1905. 
the gardening world 
617 
■ this work. Young trees, or, rather, stocks 
that may have failed with a graft, can be 
budded with every chance of success, but not 
so with old trees as a rule. 
Bicton Gardens, Devonshire. 
James Mayxe. 
Hardy Herbaceous Plants. 
Carnations —These have done very well 
this year- and flowered profusely, and it is 
now time to commence layering for next sea¬ 
son’s supply. This operation requires to be 
carefully done, and many failures result from 
an insufficient knowledge of the subject. A 
suitable compost to use will consist of loam, 
decayed leaf soil, and sharp road sand in equal 
proportions, and the whole should be passed 
through a fin© sieve; but, failing all these' 
ingredients, road sand alone will be found 
almost equally good, and many growers use 
tlnis with every success. The old flower stems 
should be removed if there are no more flotver 
buds to expand, and, after a little of the old 
soil has been taken away from the base of 
the plant, apply enough of the compost for 
the layers to root well into’, and press it 
firmly. A few of the lower leaves should then 
be taken off each shoot which is to be 
layered, and in making the division in the 
stem, cut in a slanting direction through the 
centre of a joint, taking care, of course, not 
to sever the growth from the old plant. Then 
open the cut, and press down firmly into the 
soil, securing with a wooden peg or wire pin 
specially made for the purpose. When the 
layering has been completed 1 give a good 
damp over with a fine-rose can,- and continue 
to dp so every day when the weather is fine. 
Michaelmas Daisies. —This has been, ro 
far, an ideal season for these popular 
flowers, and they give promise of a 
fine display in the autumn, when other 
flowers are past. The long sideshoots will 
■need to be kept tied loosely in, and a little 
feeding occasionally will give colour to the 
foliage and flowers. Mildew sometimes makes 
its appearance at this season, especially after 
a spell of hot weather, and where this is 
noticed a dusting of sulphur should be given, 
if possible, when the foliage is damp, or a 
syringing with some liquid preparation, of 
which there are now several good ones suit¬ 
able for the purpose. 
Aquilegias —The olcl flower stems of these 
should be removed, and any young plants 
which were put out this spring should have 
the surface soil kept stirred between them, 
as, in fact, it should be among all growing 
plants. A. E. T. 
Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 
Laurels. These are among the best-known 
and most useful of evergreen shrubs, and of 
til© two species Laurocerasus (the common 
Laurel) and lusitanica (the Portugal Laurel) 
there are several forms which are quite dis¬ 
tinct and of much interest, though not nearly 
so largely grown as they deserve. C. Lauro¬ 
cerasus is the one most generally seen, and 
is used for a variety of purposes, such as for 
making hedges and covert planting. A very 
important part of the cultivation of these 
shrubs is the pruning, and now i's the best 
time for doing it; but Laurels should be 
treated with much more care in this respect 
than is generally the case. Where they are 
grown as single specimens the pruning should 
always be done with a knife or secateurs, 
cutting the young shoots hard back, but not 
injuring the foliage. Of course, where grown 
in large masses the shears must be used, 
but the appearance oi isolated plants is much 
marred if treated in this way. Among the 
common Laurel section the best varieties are 
colchica, caucasica, Otinii, latifolia, and 
angustifolia, all of which are sufficiently dis¬ 
tinct to warrant inclusion. The Portugal 
Laurel is readily distinguished by its smaller 
and darker foliage, and as a specimen it 
forms a shrub of imposing dimensions. Al¬ 
though generally regarded as a very difficult 
shrub to transplant, this can easily be over¬ 
come by pinning hard into the old wood in 
the spring, when it will break freely, and 
can be lifted with safety in the autumn or 
following spring. The best variety of this is 
one called myrtifolia, and both are seen to 
much the best advantage when grown in 
pyramid shape. There is also an excellent 
variegated variety of both. 
A. E. Thatcher. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. 
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The Stove and Greenhouse. 
Lachenalias and Freesias.— Golden rules 
to observe in the cultivation of these bulbous 
plants are—early potting of large-sized bulbs 
so that they may have a long season of steady 
growth in cool quarters, clean pots efficiently 
drained, and a good friable soil. No time 
should be lost in potting up the earliest 
batches into 48’s or 32’s, using a compost 
consisting of equal parts loam, flaky leaf soil, 
and decayed manure, with abundance of sharp 
sand or road grit added. Press this fairly 
firmly in the pots, and place the bulbs eight 
or ten in a pot. The top of the bulb should 
protrude through the surface soil when com¬ 
pleted. Th© smaller ones may be potted up 
somewhat thicker for growing on to flower 
the following year. Well water in, and place 
in a close frame and shade from the rays 
of the sun until growth commences ; but little 
water at the root will be needed for a few 
weeks—the necessary amount of moisture to 
induce them to start should be afforded by 
syringing. Lachenalias resent being grown in 
warmth at any time of their growth, but 
Freesias will force readily in winter when 
sufficiently established. 
Cyclamen. —Plants raised from seed sown 
this time last year will by now be well estab¬ 
lished in their flowering pots, and robust 
growth in cold pits or frames should be main¬ 
tained. The lights should be left off at night 
when heavy storms do not threaten, for the 
dews falling upon the plants are highly 
beneficial in promoting sturdy growth. Alter¬ 
nate applications of liquid manure, soot- 
water, and guano, with clear water, should 
be given until flowering commences. Avoid 
heavy shading from this time onwards, but 
a light shade during the hottest part of the 
day is essential. This is a capital time to sow 
seed for producing plants for flowering the 
following year. Pans should be clean and 
well drained, then filled to within g in. of 
the rim with finely-sifted light soil. Water 
the soil, and sow the seed evenly and cover 
wuth in. of fine soil. A sheet of glass should 
be placed upon the top of the pan, and place 
on a shelf in the greenhouse to germinate. 
K. M. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Summer-flowering Cypripediums .—Where 
a temperature of a normal 55 deg. in winter 
is obtainable, there are several species and 
hybrids belonging to the summer-flowering 
section of Cypripediums that may be success¬ 
fully cultivated. These plants are particu¬ 
larly useful for exhibition purposes; they 
last a long time in perfection, and with ordi¬ 
nary care they stand a good deal of knocking 
about, which is a great consideration where an 
exhibitor is in the habit of showing at a suc¬ 
cession of local shows, such as I know to be 
the case wth many enthusiastic amateurs in 
the North of England. Among the species 
suitable for this purpose, perhaps C. Cur¬ 
rish is one of the most desirable. Its free- 
flowering habit and robust constitution will 
enable, with good cultivation, one to produce 
a good-sized specimen in a year or two from 
moderate-sized plants. There is not a great 
deal of variation among them, but it is re¬ 
markable the size of flower and development 
of colour obtained from good cultivation. 
Like most of the tesselated foliage section 
of Cypripediums, C. Curtisii does best in an 
open or porous compost of about equal por¬ 
tions of chopped sphagnum Moss and fibrous 
peat, with some coarse silver sand or broken 
crocks added to make free passage of water 
through the compost. The pots should be 
sufficiently large to contain the plant com¬ 
fortably, and filled to one-third of their depth 
with clean broken crocks. The compost should 
be pressed firmly about the roots and base 
of the plant. The best time in which to repot 
the plants is when the new roots make their 
appearance or immediately after the plants 
have passed out of flower. To make large 
specimens it is desirable to sever the rhizome 
connecting the individual growths. This is 
done by carefully passing a sharp knife be¬ 
tween the growths, and dividing the rhizome 
immediately in the centre between the two. 
It will be found that in most of the summer¬ 
flowering kinds the plants rarely produce a 
back-break unless the rhizome be divided in 
this'way, but care must be observed that the 
leading growth is always in an active rooting 
stage before it is taken from the older growth. 
